Substances that are used for medical treatment, particularly those that are injected into patients, such as pharmaceuticals (e.g., drugs, steroids, antibiotics, proteins, nucleic acids) or other bioactive agents, must be adequately sterilized. If not properly sterilized, such substances may pose serious risks for infection or exposure of other harmful disease(s) to the general population. For instance, recently, contaminated steroid shots given to a large portion of the population has led to an outbreak of fungal meningitis, resulting in the sickness and deaths of numerous people.
Acoustic energy-based sample processing devices, such as Adaptive Focused Acoustic apparatuses made by Covaris of Woburn, Mass., are effective for homogenization and disruption of biological tissues, cells and other sample material. The devices are also beneficial for chemical applications, such as compound dissolution, formulation, micronization, emulsification and other processes.